WHAT:
6th Annual LOCALTOPIA, “A Community Celebration of All Things Local”
WHEN:
Saturday, February 2, 2019 | 10 am to 5 pm (Rain Date: February 23, 2019)
WHERE:
Williams Park, 330 2nd Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Plus Streets Closed for Festival: 3rd Street between 1st & 2nd Avenues North / 2nd Avenue between 3rd & 4th Streets North / “old bus lane” on 4th Street North (View the Lineup HERE)
Free Bike Valet
WHO:
Organized by Keep Saint Petersburg Local as a 7-Year Anniversary Celebration, Presented by Happy Feet Plus
COST:
FREE* family-friendly festival *[$5 Suggested (Minimum) Donation]
*Not* pet-friendly since 2016 due to large crowds. Because we love our furry friends, we want to ensure that they (and our human friends) stay safe, so we request that attendees please leave pets at home.
MORE INFO:
KeepSaintPetersburgLocal.org/Localtopia (Facebook event link HERE)
The Independent Business Alliance, Keep Saint Petersburg Local, is proud to bring back LOCALTOPIA to Williams Park for its 5th year, with new elements (see below) that will make it the best one yet! LOCALTOPIA is St. Pete’s largest “Community Celebration of All Things Local” showcasing over 200 of our city’s favorite independent businesses and community organizations. The family-friendly festival also commemorates KSPL’s 7-Year Anniversary!
Major Sponsors & Partners: Presented By: Happy Feet Plus | City of St. Petersburg Co-Sponsored Event + NEW Partnership with Healthy St. Pete | Sponsored By: Elements on Third / Freedom Bank / Hunger + Thirst Group / Mermosa Winery & Boutique / Tampa Bay Rowdies / Urban Flats | Stage Sponsor: Hideaway Cafe
Festival Features:
- MAKERS & MERCHANTS: Art & Handcrafted Goods, Artisanal & Plant-Based Food & Beverages, Body/Self-Care, Books, Clothing & Accessories, Home Decor, Jewelry, Pet, Plants & Plant-Based Products, Vintage, Vinyl & Much More! (Find all the Vendors HERE)
- VILLAGES: Arts Village | Family Village | *EXPANDED* Health & Wellness Village Featuring *NEW* Healthy St. Pete Stage with Demos + Outdoor Spin Rides + Live DJ | *NEW* Plantopia Village (See Below for More Information about the Newest Elements / Learn more about the Villages HERE)
- EAT, DRINK & PLAY LOCAL: 4th Street: Food Truck Rally Alley | 2nd Avenue: Restaurant Row + Local Breweries Pouring Their Own Brews + *NEW* Park & Rec Game Experience(Find all the Vendors HERE)
- 3RD STREET: Boutiques | Vendors on Wheels | DJ | *NEW* Literary Corner | Skate | Street Fun
- LIVE LOCAL MUSICon the Williams Park Bandstand (View the Lineup HERE)
- ENGAGING ACTIVITIESfor All Ages, Free Demos & Crafts, “Biggest Local Raffle,” Live Screen Printing, Photo Booth and More Surprises!
New Elements:
- Newest Village: #PlantopiaatLocaltopia – It’s where you’ll find #AllThingsPlants at the largest celebration of #AllThingsLocal! Vendors’ items include: plants & handcrafted planters, farm produce, herbs & wellness, plant-based food (donuts, granola & ice cream) & beverages (juice, kombucha, ginger beer & tea), plant-based skincare, plant-related art, hand-carved wooden provisions
- Partnership with the City of St. Petersburg’s Healthy St. Pete Initiative – EXPANDED Health & Wellness Village Featuring NEW Healthy St. Pete Stage with Demos + Outdoor Spin Rides – Schedule to be announced nearer the date of the festival
- Literary Corner on 3rd Street – With the Bluebird Books Bus, Keep St. Pete LIT, two typewriter poetry stations (have a poem composed & typed up just for you!), a “build your own book” activity, plus a book & zine exchange (bring a book, or take one home for a donation), plus book and letterpress vendors
- Restaurant Row Moves to 2nd Avenue – Where Even More Local Breweries Will Be Pouring Their Own Brews
- New Park & Rec Game Experience on 2nd Avenue – A version of the ever-popular Park & Rec outdoor games set-up will be on the same street as the breweries
- Festival Continues to Strive to Be As Sustainable As Possible
Founder/Executive Director, Olga Bof, says, “We’re so incredibly excited about our 2019 festival and its new elements. We not only showcase over 200 of St. Pete’s favorite local businesses and fellow non-profits, but we also feature initiatives, trends, etc. that have come to the fore since the previous year’s festival and/or we foresee to be important for the coming year. Whereas we’ve had plant/plant-based vendors since our first event in 2014, we wanted to honor that more plant-based/related businesses have opened/started since this year’s Localtopia, so we branded an area accordingly – hence our new #PlantopiaatLocaltopia Village.
Tied to this, our Independent Business Alliance not only works to help keep St. Pete local; we want to help keep it as healthy as possible too, which is why we’ve partnered with the City of St. Petersburg’s Healthy St. Pete Initiative. You’ll find their new “Healthy St. Pete Stage” in the Health & Wellness Village, which has been expanded even more since this year’s festival. Demos will be going on all day – fitness, acro yoga, dancing and more. The schedule will be announced nearer the date. You’ll also find Healthy St. Pete in the grass in the Family Village with “Family Fitness & Fun” activities.
We think our literary arts scene merits its own area too, which is why you’ll now find a Literary Corner on 3rd Street. The whole street will come alive with DJ SugarBear, 40+ vendors, nearly ten of which are vehicles (“vendors on wheels”), including the NEW makeme studio camper, “Miss Clementine,” which will make its debut at the festival. Step inside for craft-making for all ages.
Whether you’re strolling through the heart of the festival, Williams Park, or one of the closed streets, we want you to be engaged at all times and feeling that this is a true “Community Celebration of All Things Local.”
About Keep Saint Petersburg Local:
Keep Saint Petersburg Local is a non-profit organization, affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance, working to build a thriving local economy and a unique community. The Alliance does this by nurturing connections for and acting as the voice of locally-owned, independent businesses and by raising awareness of the importance of buying local.
About Local Businesses:
Independent, locally-owned businesses are essential to a vital local economy and community character. They use the goods and services of other local businesses. They’re owned by our friends and neighbors, or maybe even you (they employ our friends and neighbors too). Community-serving businesses are the backbone of local economies, civic life, local charities and wealth creation for millions of citizens, as well as a training ground for future generations of entrepreneurs.
The problem is that today, independent businesses face unprecedented competition from larger chain competitors, internet merchants and franchises that enjoy national or international branding power and major economies of scale. As a result, community-based businesses comprise a smaller portion of our economy than ever before. We’ll lose much more than places to shop, dine or do business if we allow current trends to continue.